


But Maybe Close Enough To Be

by AshWinterGray



Series: Steve Harrington Needs Friends [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Background Demogorgon (Stranger Things), Cute Kids, F/M, Family time, First Part Trailer Based, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt Steve Harrington, I Am Not Helping, Pain, Season 3, Steve Harrington Needs A Loving Family, Steve Harrington Needs Friends, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Why Is Steve Always Hurt, demodogs, russian spies, they all need help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-04 21:43:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18352286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: With their group of friends that isn't quite the Breakfast Club, some of them are graduating, and they have to figure out if they should move on or stay together. Tugged in different directions, they each endure hardships too. And Steve is just so tired of everyone staring at him with such guilt. He made his choice, and he wasn't dead yet. The choices they make will leave problems for the others, but sometimes they have to make those choices. Starting as friends, they find it's harder to let go when they become a family.Part two of; "Not Quite The Breakfast Club"





	1. Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the future holding different paths for the group, there is one thing they won't talk about. Steve's near death. But that changes when monsters appear out of nowhere. And no one is ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you guys can probably tell, this was based off the trailer and many many theories. So I hope you enjoy.

            They lived in an apartment now, all taking jobs to pay for it. Well, most of them were in the apartment. Justin’s was still living at home because changing addresses now would have messed with college letters. Victoria lived at home because she had three younger siblings she loved, and her dad was at least nice. And Christopher was still a freshman and a minor. Honestly, Michelle was still technically sixteen, so she shouldn’t have been living with them, but her parents just kind of pretended she wasn’t there anyways. So it was fine. Of their group, Steve, Justin, Gareth, and Avery were the seniors. Michelle and Victoria were juniors, and Christopher was a freshman. None of them had even thought about their age gaps until they started to talk about their futures. But that’s another matter, the point was, Steve was woken up feeling safe, warm, and loved.

            They were all on a large mattress that came from the pull-out couch. It was a two-room apartment, Steve sharing with Gareth and Avery with Michelle. But it was just nicer for everyone to know that at least some of their group was close. Gareth was stretched out at the head of the bed, arm somehow propped up against the base of the couch, and the opposite hand tangled in Avery’s hair. Steve’s head was pillowed on Gareth’s stomach, and he had his arms wrapped around both girls. Michelle was curled around Steve’s right side, literally, fisting into his shirt with their legs tangled together. And Avery had her head pillowed on his left shoulder. Where his shirt had risen up, Avery had been fingering at the scar from the Demodog attack. Her hand rested limply against the scar now as she slept. Probably a reassurance that he was there.

            But that wasn’t what woke him up.

            “How did you even get in here?” Steve asked.

            El turned to him, a pan of eggs cooking over the stove, and she just sort of gave him a _look_. In his groggy state, Steve thought of her powers, but then he remembered the agreement to give everyone from recent monster events a key to the apartment if necessary. Not quite for emergencies, but Steve was still confused. Like reading his mind, though she probably had, she answered.

            “I got bored,” El stated, taking the eggs off the stove and dishing them onto plates. “Hopper had to work late last night, so I didn’t get to see him. Then he had to leave quickly. I don’t like being alone.”

            Steve nodded. El had confessed at one point that if she hadn’t felt something was off, she wouldn’t have gotten to Steve in time. This was followed by the confession that if she hadn’t been different and needed to stay hidden, then maybe she could have done something to save Steve sooner so he wouldn’t have been hurt. It had been a long conversation, but Steve also knew that everyone carried some sort of guilt for that day, and they would hopefully come to terms with it all in their own time.

            The smell of El hovering over the eggs had the other three stirring awake as El joined them on the couch. It was one of those rare weekends where Gareth didn’t need to work, so they had slept in that morning, and chosen the couch because of that fact. Because it felt safe.

            “I’m thinking about taking a job at the mall,” Steve hummed thoughtfully. “No offense to Mrs. Talia, but hamburgers are not my thing.”

            “I think that ice cream place is hiring,” Michelle shrugged. “Could work there. You’ll hate ice cream by the end of it, but at least you’ll be cool during the summer.”

            “And wear incredibly short shorts,” Gareth teased, earning a shove from Michelle.

            “At least he won’t smell like burgers,” Michelle pointed out.

            Steve used the distraction of the bickering to glance down at Avery’s wrists. All of the scars were old, had been for months, though she had cut a few times after the incident. But the lines there were all silver. He smiled at that fact before turning back to the others.

            “I’ll try it,” Steve stated, finally ending the bickering. “I’ll just put in an application. I’ll try a few other places too. What’s this place called?”

            “Scoops Ahoy,” Michelle grinned. “You get to be an ice cream sailor.”

            Steve was regretting this already. Gareth and Michelle were clearly ready to tease him. There were sometimes when El read people’s minds and they were not pleased by her doing so. This was not one of those times. At all.

            “Nancy wants to know if the group has a name,” El pipped up.

            “No!” Gareth protested, standing on the bed now to protest. “Uh-uh. No way. No. Nope. No, n-no no no no.”

            “Oh come on,” Michelle teased, her grin growing. “If the Kids can be called something dumb like, ‘The Party’, then we can have some sort of title ourselves.”

            “What about ‘The Librarians’?” Avery asked. “It’s what most people call us anyways. You know, since we’re always in the library.”

            “Not you too?” Gareth gaped, scandalized. “You were supposed to be on my side! You traitor!”

            “I’m pretty sure Avery and I weren’t on a side,” Steve shoved the last of his eggs in his mouth. He swallowed before continuing of course. “Dustin would say we were like Switzerland.”

            “Even Switzerland had a part in the war, Steve,” Michelle pointed out blandly. “They were just on both sides.”

            “Exactly,” Steve grinned back. “We supported both of you on your ideas.”

            Both Michelle and Gareth looked completely scandalized at this revelation, leaving Avery, Steve and El to laugh at their faces. If this was what family felt like, he was loving every minute of it. Honestly and whole heartedly.  The fights, the laughs, the bickering, the jokes, the pranks, the bond. All of it. It made him feel whole. Made him feel alive.

            “I’ve got to say, though,” Steve smiled as his laughter stopped and he went to ruffle El’s hair. “You’re cooking skills have definitely gotten better.”

            El, though not happy to have her hair messed up, couldn’t help but beam at the compliment. She loved learning, and sharing her knowledge made her grin.

\----------------------------------

            Their group had just sort of grown to include that of Nancy and Jonathan. It felt right in a way for them to be there, and with both Nancy and Avery’s help, his grades had gone up. Mrs. Whittman had been afraid that none of them would be able to go near the library again, so she was surprised to see them walk in with smiles on their faces. They hadn’t stopped coming to the library either.

            “Graduation is soon,” Mrs. Whittman stated with a hum. “Have plans be confirmed yet.”

            The four seniors nodded. Almost sadly.

            “What’s wrong?” Christopher asked.

            “It’s just-” Avery tried. But it was clear she couldn’t continue.

            “We’re moving on,” Justin picked up. “Most of us out of Hawkins for a period of time. Even if we do plan to come back. What if we lose this? And what happens to the rest of you with the rest of us not there?”

            “We keep in touch,” Michelle scoffed. “It won’t be easy. But it won’t be impossible either. Visits for vacation. Constant letters and phone calls. And besides, if we really want to make more friends, we just get detention again with Mrs. Whittman.”

            “Can do,” Mrs. Whittman beamed.

            “I will never understand how any of you can be so cheerful about detention,” Nancy scoffed. “It goes on your record.”

            “Not Steve,” Victoria pointed out. “Mrs. Whittman got them to change it because it was for a stupid reason. And they didn’t listen to Steve’s side of the story.”

            “It wasn’t bad,” Steve shrugged. “I mean, met you guys. And I’d say all of our lives have become better in some shape or form because of it.”

            “True,” Gareth nodded, as he tossed Avery her notebook again. He seemed to do that a lot. “But I think we all could have done without the monsters. At least we all knew to react when you did. That was at least helpful.”

            Nancy and Jonathan suddenly jerked at this information. Ah. Steve had forgotten what he had said in his delirium with the concussion. And he hadn’t exactly told the others yet. There were a few problems with this. The first being the fact that they weren’t supposed to say anything about the Upside Down at all.

            “Don’t worry,” Michelle beamed, making sure everyone was looking at her. “He was still suffering from the concussion, so he was a bit delirious. But all he really managed to tell us that was how bad things had been when Will was taken and that the bad thing had come back. We didn’t know what the bad thing was until the monsters showed up.”

            This did nothing to relieve Nancy or Jonathan, who were both gaping at Steve.

            “It was an accident!” Steve protested. “Honestly! I had a concussion and I fell asleep!”

            “You fell asleep with a concussion?” Nancy demanded.

            “Steve, you could have died!” Jonathan protested, as if he could have stopped an event from the past.

            “I seem to have nearly died a lot in the last three years,” Steve pointed out, motioning to his head and then his side as he spoke. “But I must be immortal or something because I keep coming back.”

            Christopher’s hand was suddenly on his side, touching the scar there with a pained look. And Steve had to wince because he knew those looks. Guilt, pain, regret all flashing in the faces of those he called family.

            “Guys,” he softened his tone. “I’m fine. Really. I made my choice that day, everything that has nearly killed me was of my own decision. Not anyone else. Me. And I would do most of it again. Except for the time you punched me in the face, Jonathan. I deserved that.”

            They still looked pained, so Steve reached out and ruffled Christopher’s hair. The younger gave a yelp of protest, batting Steve’s hand away. It was enough to change the subject as Gareth locked an arm around Christopher and began to ruffle his hair a bit too hard. It caused the others to laugh or at least crack a smile. But that was why Steve worried.

            What would the others do while he was gone for two years and couldn’t assure themselves he was alive?

\------------------------

            Graduation was odd. As in, the fact that they were reaching the end hadn’t really settled in until they did that stupid graduation happened. And it hit like a hard slap to the face with a chair. Things were changing, and they feared it was for the worst.

            “Come on Steve, smile,” Jonathan chuckled.

            “You’ve taken at _least_ twenty-five pictures,” Steve hissed at him. “And we aren’t even at the school yet. How many of these are you taking?”

            “Just enough to annoy you,” Jonathan teased as he snapped another picture.

            Steve scowled, but it was playful. “Then you’ve done your job. Consider me annoyed.”

            Jonathan suddenly got a look on his face that made Steve’s skin crawl. With a sharp nod of his head, Jonathan raised the camera once more. Steve was about to protest when Avery and Michelle suddenly kissed both cheeks. Steve sat there and gaped as Jonathan took the picture.

            “You’re all jerks,” Steve couldn’t help but grin at them both. “Now come on, we’ll be late. And Jonathan will miss his chance to take more pictures.”

            The actual ceremony took forever, but everyone who graduated couldn’t help but beam as they crossed the stage. There was a stupid thing they did where they gave the students the case but not the actual diploma so they would be forced to stay through the entire ceremony. Then they went to a separate part of the building as they exited and got their actual diploma for pictures before going to meet their families. Justin, Gareth, Steve, and Avery held their diplomas proudly as their ever growing family gathered to take pictures.

            “You did good, kid,” Hopper congratulated Steve. “And you’ll do even better in the future.”

            Steve smiled, but it was wary.

\------------------------

            Steve got the job at Scoops Ahoy, and they outfits were terrible. Dustin had gone to summer camp, so he couldn’t be there for Steve’s first day. But everyone _else_ was there. Much to Steve’s annoyance. They didn’t seem to care about his life at all.

            “You seem to have a lot of friends,” Robin, his coworker teased lightly.

            “You have no idea,” Steve scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shoot me now.”

            “It can’t be that bad,” Robin tried, but her grin was a bit wary.

            Steve turned to her looking grim. “Oh really? They did this exact same thing when I got the job at that burger joint. And the worst part is that they love to up-do themselves.”

            That was the worst week of Steve’s life. He quite nearly banned Gareth, Max, and Michelle from the ice-cream store, and if Hopper wasn’t Chief of Hawkins, he definitely would have banned the man. The only person who didn’t show up beside Dustin was El, and that was because she was still under house arrest. At least El would have been relatively nice. But as June came to an end, Dustin came back and greeted him with their special hand-shake. Robin, of course, teased him.

            “Oh, so your Robin!” Dustin beamed. “Steve told me about you!”

            Robin seemed surprise by that, and it made Steve’s stomach do something funny. He knew that look. Had seen it a bit few times. The face of someone forgotten one too many times. He would need to make sure to encourage Robin more.

            “Hey kid,” Gareth greeted, ruffling Dustin’s hair through his hat. “Good to see you back. Strawberry, please, Steve.”

            Steve rolled his eyes at Robin and moved behind the counter again. But he was smiling as Gareth got Dustin to order too. The kids weren’t officially a part of their little group, but they might as well be.

            “We’re still doing the fourth of July at the Byers, right?” Gareth asked as he leaned against the counter to eat his ice cream. “Cause if we need to change location, I can find a place.”

            “As far as I know we are doing it at the Byers new place,” Steve hummed back as he cleaned the table. “We need to bring a side dish though. Or two. Hey, Robin, you should come.”

            Robin’s head jerked up in surprise. “No, I couldn’t.”

            “Oh, come on Birdy,” Gareth grinned at her. “We can handle one more. Unless you can’t handle us.”

            Robin slowly smiled at that, nodding. Steve hoped that meant she was keeping the offer. Gareth had to go back to work, a cheeky grin on his face. But Dustin had gotten into a fight with Mike, so he was staying close to Steve. Dustin was there all day, and as the mall and stores closed down for the night, Robin seemed to be in a better mode.

            Until Steve heard something. A very familiar sounding something.

            “Get to the car,” Steve instructed firmly. “Now.”

            “Steve?”

            “Now, Dustin!” Steve hissed out. “Don’t argue. Don’t ask questions. Just go.”

            Steve didn’t wait to see if Dustin and Robin had listened. He simply took off running as he heard the sound again. Turning a few corners, and Steve found what he feared to be true. A Demodog eating a security guard in the security room. He took a nearby gun and shot the thing till it died. Then he locked down the building.

            Only to turn around and see Dustin and Robin watching him.

            “Don’t be mad,” Dustin raised his hand’s in surrender.

            “I told you to get out!” Steve screamed. “What part of that don’t you understand?”

            “The part where these things nearly killed you the last time you decided to be suicidal!” Dustin argued back.

            “What is _that_?”

            And both Dustin and Robin watched in horror as Robin took in the dead monster. Steve came to the conclusion that he was really bad at this whole secret thing because he kept getting people involved. His second thought was that there were going to be a whole lot more people who were going to kill him for his self-sacrificing persona if he didn’t survive this.

            The lights flickered, and Steve tore down the hallway, desperate to hide from the oncoming problem. He nearly stabbed himself right then and there as they ran into Erica Sinclair.

            “Something weird has been going on,” Erica informed them haughtily. How one child had that much sass was beyond Steve. “And from the looks of it, you two know what is going on.”

            “She’s not wrong,” Dustin stated.

            “Shut up,” Steve growled. “We have bigger things to worry about than what Erica does and doesn’t know. In case you haven’t realized, the gate opened again, and we’re trapped in a mall. A mall you none of you should have been in, might I add.”

            “You shouldn’t have been in here either,” Dustin pointed out. “Steve, you nearly-”

            “But I didn’t!” Steve finally blew up. “Darn it all! I’m still alive! And I am sick and tired of everyone looking at me as if they can’t believe I’m still there! I’m sick of everyone acting as if I died! You think this was easy for me? That being nearly killed by one of those things, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to save any of you was alright with me? Well guess what, World, I hate it! I’m alive! Sorry to disappoint everyone! Now back off!”

            Steve didn’t care if the monsters heard him. He didn’t care if the monsters pounced on him. He was just done with the pity and the guilt. So he walked away, leaving Dustin, Robin, and Erica stunned. And when a Demodog raced towards him, Steve grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and bashed the things head in. And he kept walking. In that moment, he was more dangerous than Eleven.

\-----------------------

            He went back to them sometime later, apologizing to Dustin and hugging his kid close for at least an hour. Then they started to move about the mall, searching for some place to hide and trying to avoid Demodogs. Steve really hated these things. They found a door to a basement and snuck downstairs. Hoping for a place to hide.

            “This is crazy,” Robin finally breathed, shaking her head as if to rid her mind of some odd thought.

            “You should have seen the thing that took Will,” Dustin pointed out, his voice still scratchy from sobbing into Steve’s uniform. “That thing was huge.”

            “What is that?” Erica asked from a bit away.

            There, on the other side of a door with slit windows, was the gate. Steve and Dustin gaped in horror before Steve told them they needed to run. And run they did. As far away from that _thing_ as they could get.

            They’d moved to the food court, hoping the sent of food would hide the sent of blood. But then Erica spotted a man walking around. Steve, hoping to help the guy who was clearly an idiot, went to the guy and tried to get his attention. He got a punch to the face.

            “Steve!” Dustin screamed.

            The man growled something in a different language. Steve didn’t know, but the guy punched him in the face again. The others were screaming as the guy continued to punch him over and over. Steve had to wonder if he could go a year without getting beat up. It would be nice if he could. But it was clearly not this year. The shouts of the others might have been what summoned the creatures, but there was something large that attacked the maybe-Russian-guy.

            “Come on!” Robin screamed, pulling Steve up. “Come on!”

            Steve didn’t really need to be told twice, but he let Robin pull him along. This was all nuts. Well, it appeared the Russian guy had a friend because Steve was yanked away from Robin’s grasp. He yelled at the others to run, even as a needle was inserted into his neck. There was a gun-shot sometime after that moment. Steve wasn’t sure. It may have just been his head hitting the ground as he blacked out.

            When he woke up, his head was on Dustin’s lap as the guy absently ran his fingers through Steve’s hair. There was a random box that was opened to the side of them and a pack of opened batteries. There was a radio in Dustin’s hand, and he was just sort of the buttons.

            “Mo’se Co’e?” Steve blurted out groggily.

            “Steve,” Dustin breathed out, tears falling from his eyes. “Steve. You’re okay.”

            “Yeah,” Steve smiled and grinned up at Dustin. “I’m not dying anytime soon.”

            Robin and Erica suddenly scuttled over, and that was when Steve realized it was at least the afternoon of the next day. And there was no one else in the mall. He looked back up at Dustin, who was trying to stop his sobs as he put down the radio.

            “Those things killed someone trying to get in,” Robin sniffed. “They’ve got the whole mall closed off.”

            “Russian?” Steve asked curiously.

            “Dead,” Erica stated.

            And Steve hated how flat her voice sounded. He feared that meant she might have been the one to kill the guy.

            “Feel like I got attacked by a brick,” Steve groaned, hoping to change the subject. “Or a train.”

            The others chuckled, seeing the joke for what it was. They were trying to be quite as they spoke, and Dustin managed to quell his sobs long enough to pick the radio up again. Steve, who had been trying to learn Morse code since the possession of Will, instantly recognized some of the letters. He groggily reached for Erica, letting the girl rest into his side, and he gripped Robin’s hand.

            A crash had them all stiffening.

            But the crash was followed by hushed and furious whispering, and it made Steve pause. He knew that sound of bickering. Had grown used to hearing it. He grinned up at Dustin, motioning to where the sound came from. Dustin seemed to get the message and went to find everything.

            “Steve,” Avery breathed as she, Gareth, Justin, and Victoria came into view. Her hand went up to run through his hair, and he leaned into her touch. “What happened? Did the monster do this?”

            “The Russians did,” Dustin shook his head.

            They caught each other up on what was happening. El and the kids were looking for the kids. Nancy and Jonathan were working with Christopher and Michelle to find out how Billy Hargrove and his co-worker Heather were possessed and why. Joyce and Hopper were with Murray Bauman to figure out why the Russians were here, what Brenner was up to, and how to stop them once and for all. It was all nuts.

            “We found the gate,” Steve hummed back. “It’s in the basement. There were dead lab coats and hazmat suits down there too. Not sure how they opened the gate. But it’s there.”

            It was extremely satisfying to finish a puzzle, including a mind puzzle. Steve should do it more often, he decided. There was a lot of scrambling and yelling into radios and stealing a bunch of stuff to fight monsters. Steve, once he managed to move enough to actually do something, took the gun from Erica. She gave it willingly.

            As they all met up in the mall, well, except Joyce and Hopper, things went crazy. They got separated again, and Steve found himself facing Billy’s monster. He didn’t kill him, not right away, but he managed to shoot the creature enough for Billy to get his bearings back. To be himself in his last moments.

            “Just kill me,” Billy sobbed out. “I can’t fight this. Just kill me while I’m still me.”

            “I’m sorry,” Steve whispered, raising the gun to Billy’s head. “I’ll take care of Max, I promise I will.”

            Billy chuckled, though sadly. Not bitter though. Just sad, like he maybe, somewhere deep down, still cared for Max. It made Steve’s stomach churn and his heart clench.

            “You better, Harrington,” he hissed in pain. “Please. Please.”

            Steve shot Billy in the head, and he cradled the body of his bully. No matter how terrible Billy was, no one deserved death. Especially not like this. He wouldn’t let Max look at the body of her step-brother, scooping her up and keeping her away. Then he carefully placed her in Justin’s strong arms when he grew too tired to hold her. He had to go to the hospital, and he threatened to shoot up the government people if they tried to take El away.

            He found out later that it was passed as a Russian attack. They claimed that the “weapons” left after the shut down of Hawkins Lab intrigued the Russians and they went to look for them. Really, the Russians had heard of the paper and went to look for the supposed “Russian Girl”. Billy Hargrove was given a heroes funeral for his “sacrifice” to stop the Russians from kidnapping children. The Russians, as claimed, had taken over the mall in hopes to get children, managed to capture two children and a few teens inside the mall during hours, and then proceeded to kidnap other children through the night. Two adults found out, and a few teens tried to help the kids only to get taken themselves.

            It was a stupid story. Steve hated it. They all hated it. But they signed those papers. Though Steve had a feeling that Michelle managed to avoid them. A few days later, word got out that Doctor Martin Brenner had been working with the Russians and he was arrested. Murray Bauman was extremely smug after that.

\------------------------

 

            Steve lived on the couch in their apartment now. Honestly. He wasn’t allowed to move from the couch for at least another week. Per doctor’s orders of course, and his friends were all enforcing that rule.

            However, this time, they were having a “family meeting” because El was tired of their dumb attitudes. Dustin had told them all of Steve’s outburst while said guy was high on pain killers, and yet they still hadn’t talked about it. So El was done, and they were all gathered on the bed. Everyone. Including Robin and Erica.

            “Look,” Steve sighed when no one spoke. “I’m alive, haven’t died yet. And I’m not going to die anytime soon. I may be a self-sacrificing idiot, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to die. And I understand why you all feel guilty, but I’m not dead. I’m here. Alive. And I wish you would all just _see_ that.”

            “Steve-”

            Joyce tried, but Steve held up his hand.

            “I feel like, every time I walk into a room, it’s like you see a ghost,” Steve stated. “Like none of you can believe I’m standing here. And I don’t mind you feeling the scar, assuring yourselves that I’m alive, but it’s like that’s the only way you know I’m alive. I made my choices. You can ask Robin and Erica. They saw what I did. Robin at least knows why I did it. I’m here. Alive. I just want you to _see me_.”

            “Why didn’t you say anything?” Mike asked, sounding almost bitter.

            “I did,” Steve corrected. “You were all just too busy looking past a ghost to hear me.”

            There was more guilt on their faces now, and Steve hated it. Pinching the bridge of his nose, a terrible idea, really, he looked at them again.

            “I’m not going to the academy,” Steve finally stated. “I’m just going to stay here where you all can see me.”

            “Steve!” Avery snapped.

            “You can’t tell me that isn’t what you all want,” Steve growled back. “To keep me here where you all know I’m alive. How do I know that if I leave, Victoria won’t just drift back to her old crowd, that Michelle won’t close off, that Christopher won’t get bullied more, that Gareth won’t grow angry and lash out, that Justin won’t give up on himself, that Avery won’t cut? How do I know Joyce and Hopper will relax, that Nancy and Jonathan will keep supporting each other, that the kids will be okay and mentally stable without me to cart them around, that Erica won’t fall into a depression from killing someone, that Robin won’t move on?”

            It was silent. Deathly silent.

            “Exactly,” Steve huffed. “You’d all fall too far into yourselves.”

            “And if you don’t go we’ll just blame ourselves more,” Michelle whispered.

            And that, that made Steve shut up. He looked at each of them, their gazes and stares. There was guilt, but Steve also noticed something he never noticed before. Fear.

            “You’re afraid you’re dragging me down?” he breathed in disbelief. “No! That’s stupid. I stay because I love you. All of you. I want you all safe and assured, and if that is all I do in life, then that is the best thing I could ever hope for.”

            He grabbed Avery’s hand, bringing her wrist to his lips, kissing them gently. There were new wounds, and Steve hated them whole-heartedly.

            “You’re my family,” Steve breathed to them, reaching to grasp Christopher’s shoulder. “All of you. I would do anything for you guys.”

            “Then go to the academy,” Gareth pressed, showing more emotion than Steve had ever known Gareth to show. “Please. For us.”

            They never talked about it. Like they couldn’t. All this time, Steve thought he was the one that was bringing them down. But really, they feared they were the ones bringing him down. He breathed a sigh and chuckled gently.

            “We’re all idiots,” he breathed.

            And they were, all of them. Complete and utter idiots. So Steve just sat there and basked in the presence of his family. No one had ever really worried about him before. No one had cared enough to feel like a hinderance.

            “I love you,” he smiled, reaching forward to ruffle El’s hair. “All of you.”

            Joyce held them the way only a mother could, and Steve leaned into that touch. They were all idiots, but they were each other’s idiots. It made everyone smile as Hopper ordered take-out and they sang dumb songs. And if they stayed up a bit too late that night, no one other than their weird family had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Billy? No. Not really. But even I would never want my worst enemy to be turned into a monster to the point their lives were not their own anymore. And there are a lot of theories that Billy or Heather will become the monster. (I honestly don't think the rats are all that important, but that's just me after watching Priah Fergueson's fan theory breakdown for Season 3).


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going their separate ways, Steve finds himself worrying about his family. And for good reason too. There is a lot going on with his siblings and Steve finds his own career being tested as he struggles to keep his family together and complete his time at the Police Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The problem from earlier was addressed and a solution was recommended and will be further looked into. (It's a weird glitch in the system that occurs from 5 am to 10 am UC time. They are still trying to fix it as it has been an ongoing problem). No idea what I'm talking about? Don't worry, you didn't miss much.

            Eventually, as all things do, summer came to an end for the year of 1985. The family celebrated the fourth of July a few days late due to monster issues. Or Russian spy issue according to the government. So it had been a rather interesting summer. Steve was just glad the bruising had gotten better and that whatever he was injected with wasn’t life threatening.

            But after their talk, his relationship with everyone seemed to shift. There were still times when someone would reach for his scar. Still times when someone would stare at him with guilt. But it wasn’t for the first reason. He was no longer a ghost to them, and that was all he could ask for.

            Then they had to say goodbye.

            “Work hard, kid,” Hopper ruffled Steve’s hair before settling his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “You’ll make an amazing officer someday. And there will be a spot waiting for you when you’re ready.”

            “I’ll try,” Steve smiled at Hopper, turning to accept a hug from Joyce. “Thank you, Mrs. Byers, for being my mom.”

            “Always,” Joyce pulled back to cup his face. “And you can call me for anything. Alright? Anything you need. And I will do my best to be there. I promise you that.”

            Steve pulled back to fall into the embrace of the next person, or people in this case. He clutched Nancy and Jonathan close, making them promise to take care of each other and not to do anything stupid while he was away and couldn’t come racing to save them with the nail-bat. They laughed, and they told him he wasn’t allowed to get beat up again.

            “You’ll come back, right?” Dustin asked as he hugged Steve tightly. “Promise?”

            Steve pulled away from Dustin, looked all the kids in the eyes once, then settled back on Dustin.

            “Promise.”

            Then he was giving each of the kids equally long hugs, even Erica Sinclair. Dustin getting a second hug because that was just him. Then he moved to hug Mrs. Whittman, telling her that he would miss her, and her joking that she wouldn’t miss him running around her library.

            “You better not burn the apartment down,” Steve growled playfully as he gripped Gareth in a tight hug.

            Gareth barked out a laugh, “We both know Michelle would be the one to do that. I’ll just trash the place without you guys here.”

            Which was true, but Michelle slapped him upside the head and Steve suddenly had her in his arms. She was shorter than he was, so he let his chin rest on her chin as they rocked slowly. It was a way to soothe Michelle, and Steve knew that them leaving bothered her more than she would let on.

            “I’ll write and call as often as I can,” Steve promised.

            “You better,” she shook a little, holding back her tears.

            He hugged Victoria next, telling her she wasn’t allowed to get into trouble while he was gone, and she laughed.

            “You’re the one always in trouble,” she teased. “What are you going to do without a girl their to protect you.”

            Steve glared at her but said nothing as he shook his head.

            Robin was next, the girl having moved in with them and hitting it off with their group easily. She had gotten a job outside of food alongside Joyce at Melvald. She would probably never set foot in that mall again. But that was what Steve had said about the Byers house, so he doubted it.

            “You take care of yourself,” he told her. “Don’t go doing anything too crazy.”

            “I only seem to do crazy things when I’m with you,” Robin scoffed.

            Steve winced at that, but he let her pull away and he went to go hug Christopher. “Don’t let anyone push you around. You’re smart and amazing.”

            “I’ll try,” Christopher smiled as Steve moved to ruffle his hair.

            Justin was next, the hug a bit stronger. “You better not die on us,” Justin whispered to him. “You hear me?”

            Steve chuckled. Once, that comment would have hurt, but Justin had a way of turning things around and making them a joke. He did it subtly, always subtly. Constantly teasing Steve about dying until it was a running joke between the two of them.

            “But it’s fun,” Steve whispered back, barely able to hide his smile.

            Justin laughed and pulled away, letting Avery sink into his arms. Steve held her the tightest of all of the others, except maybe Dustin and El.

            “Whatever happens,” Steve told her, so quietly so only she would hear. “Whatever takes place. You don’t need to worry. You don’t need to doubt. You can and will succeed, no matter how hard things are. I promise you that.”

            Avery buried her head in his neck, letting him know that she heard him. And with that final goodbye, Steve climbed into his car and started the drive to the Police Academy in Chicago. It was the start of his new life. No, that wasn’t right, it was more like the continuation of becoming the person he was meant today. The start, Steve decided, had been that day in detention.

            And he was okay with that.

\--------------------------------------

            When Steve came home for Christmas, as promised, it was with the knowledge of two things going on. One, Victoria had gotten a new boyfriend that she would _not_ let anyone meet until now. The second was that something was wrong with Gareth, and Steve had gotten several frantic phone calls from both Robin and Michelle over the last two months to calm Gareth down. Only, no one would tell Steve what was actually wrong. So he had two things to deal with, and he made sure both Avery and Justin knew about Victoria, but he was going to deal with Gareth by himself. Though Avery was sure to follow.

            “Steve!”

            A group of kids nearly tackled Steve to the floor, and Steve’s quick reflexes were about the only thing keeping him from falling over. After all, he was carrying a bag of presents and some food for tonight. They were all celebrating at the Wheeler house, it being one of the bigger places to stay and place for family to gather that Christmas night. Steve hadn’t been able to make it down until Christmas night, so they were celebrating rather late. No one except Holly really complained though, but she perked at seeing Steve.

            They all agreed that the best present of the night was one that both Hopper and Steve had begged favors for. It was a picture, lost in California, that belonged to the Hargrove family. It was gifted to Max, and she sobbed as she opened it. A picture of when Billy had been kinder. A picture Neil had taken away. A picture of Max and Billy eating ice cream when they were younger that Susan had taken. It used to sit on Billy’s mirror until Neil had ruined it and torn it apart, throwing it out. There was still a line’s all over it from where it had been ripped to shreds, but it was framed.

            She sobbed as she clutched the picture, completely surrounded by her friends. She’d told Steve of the picture and how Billy was once kind. Steve had, in turn, told Hopper, and the two of them called in favors, and favors for favors, just to find this picture. They found it a month before Christmas. Where Susan was shedding tears at the picture, Neil was scowling at it, and Hopper took him to the side to threaten the man within an inch of his life.

            “So, Matthew,” Avery leaned forward and grinned at Victoria’s boyfriend. He, for his part, shifted uncomfortably. “How did you meet Victoria?”

            “In the library, actually,” Matthew fidgeted a bit, looking uncertain. “I just moved here at the beginning of the semester, and I had been in the library a few times. I didn’t really have any friends, and she just kept talking to me.”

            “You were so cute and flustered,” Victoria teased lightly.

            Matthew flushed a bit, looking a little nervous. “And I may have sort of yelled at her.”

            “I’m sorry,” Justin interrupted, getting a bit angry. “Could you repeat that? Because I _know_ you didn’t yell at my sister.”

            “Not like that,” Matthew seemed to panic, and Victoria glared at Justin. “I just sort of, well, she just kept talking to me, and she was cute. And when she talked to me, I was always kind of shy and stuttering a lot. So I may or may not have screamed at her when I asked if she wanted to go on a date with me.”

            “And I bet you were all smooth,” Steve grinned at Victoria, receiving a smug nod. “That’s my girl.”

            Victoria beamed. “I told him he could pick me up at my address at six and not a minute late. He showed up at six on the dot, still all flustered and embarrassed. We’ve been dating ever since.”

            Steve could suddenly understand why Victoria had been so hesitant to introduce Matthew Dixon to their family. They were a large group, full of many different people that had been through a certain amount of trauma. They were protective, and introducing Matthew before he was ready would have been like feeding the poor guy to the wolves. She had clearly started with Christopher, and the two had warned Matthew about the rest of the group. Steve was impressed.

            “I like him,” Gareth grinned, sitting back in his chair. “But if you hurt her, I will hurt you.”

            “So I’ve been told,” Matthew shot a wary look at Christopher.

            Later that night, presents open and dinner eaten, Steve grabbed Gareth’s arm and asked Mike to use the basement. He nodded at them, quickly spreading the word that the basement was occupied, and Steve dragged Gareth downstairs. Avery followed.

            “Gareth,” Steve sat next to the guy on the couch as Avery took the other side. “What’s been going on, man? You know you can tell me anything.”

            Gareth’s head dropped to his hands, almost between his knees. “Terrible person.”

            “What?” Steve bulked, sharing a look with Avery. “Who’s a terrible person? Did your dad get out of jail? Do I need to do something?”

            “Me,” Gareth breathed. “I’m a terrible person, Steve. Me.”

            “No, what?” Steve moved to kneel in front of Gareth. “Of course not. You’re not a terrible person. You’re my brother. My best friend. One of them at least.”

            Gareth still wouldn’t look at Steve. Not even with probing.

            “I get so angry,” he sniffed, wiping at his nose and eyes, trying to hide himself. “Just so angry and I lash out. And just, you and Avery help. But I want you both to be amazing and live, but I miss having someone there to make me stop. Someone not afraid to quell my anger. Robin and Michelle try, but it isn’t the same. And I don’t want to be angry anymore. I don’t understand why I still am.”

            Avery suddenly buried her head against Gareth’s neck, wrapping her arms around his waist in a comfort she knew Gareth needed. And if Gareth would not meet his gaze, then Steve would offer his own comfort. Christopher once told them that a forehead touch was sacred to Japanese people, a sign of a bond shared between two people. It was mostly used for romantic love today, but it used to be for all kinds of love. For every version of love that existed. So he pressed his forehead against his brother’s forehead, and Gareth let his tears go at the simple gestures of his brother and sister.

            “I think a part of you will always be angry,” Avery whispered when Gareth’s tears had slowed to a steady stream. “But that’s alright. Honestly, neither of us had a childhood. Not a proper one at least. We were both abused. So a part of you will always be angry, a part of me will always be tired, and a part of Steve will always be lonely from the neglect. The others, they don’t really understand. Their parents don’t treat them the way ours did us. Even Michelle still had her parents when it really mattered. But the three of us, we understand each other.”

            “It’s not okay,” Gareth shook his head, but not pulling his forehead away from Steve’s.

            “No, it isn’t,” Steve admitted softly. “But that doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person. Gareth, you’re one of the bravest people I ever met. You spoke so freely about your abuse, even when no one believed you. You kept hope, even when you didn’t realize you had it. You fought back in your own sense, trying to become your own person. You’re not okay, but you’re not terrible.”

            “Just cracked,” Avery smiled at him moving her head so Steve could see her. “Broken, but not unrepairable. And if that means phone calls at odd hours of the day just to make sure your okay, then we’ll do it. Because we’re all broken. So very, very broken.”

            “But fixable,” Steve smiled.

            Steve pulled his forehead back, reaching up to kiss his brother’s forehead. Then he moved to kiss Avery’s forehead too and then hold them both close. And Steve had to pause for a moment as they sank onto the couch again and cradled Gareth between them. He called Gareth his brother, but his mind couldn’t wrap around Avery as his sister. It just, didn’t feel like the right word for their relationship. He brushed it off, honestly. He didn’t call Robin or Nancy his sisters, and he didn’t call Jonathan his brother. It was probably nothing.

            They ended up back in the apartment that night, and they instantly piled on the couch. Avery had the rest of break, and Steve had two weeks before he had to head out. And they planned to spend as much time together as possible.

\----------------------------

            Steve wished this visit was pleasant. Wished things were under better circumstances. But they weren’t. It had been three months since Christmas, well into the Spring semester. And one of Justin’s classmates had stolen his address book just to call Steve about Justin.

            “Steve Harrington?” the guy, probably Justin’s roommate, asked as he answered the door.

            “Unfortunately,” Steve sighed, already knowing where this was going based on the smell of the room. “Where is he?”

            Justin was sprawled on his bed, looking dazed, but he smiled at Steve. Steve eyed his friend in pain before he lifted Justin up and grabbed his brother’s keys.

            “Don’t wait up,” Steve called over his shoulder. “I might just keep him for the weekend.”

            It was a good thing Steve had already doubled up on training and practice to be here. He had begged the roommate to wait and then begged his teachers to let him do the work for the weekend and into the next week early. He drove a very drunk Justin around a bit, then settled at a twenty-four-hour diner where Justin devoured a burger.

            “Sorry,” Justin grumbled, sipping on the coffee Steve ordered him and taking the offered pain meds. “I’m really sorry.”

            “No, stop,” Steve shook his head desperately. “Just tell me what’s wrong. How can I help?”

            Justin said nothing, and they were soon back in the car. Steve took them to a hotel, not willing to let Justin go just yet. His brother was fragile right now and letting him go would let him drink himself away again.

            “Why are you doing this?” Justin asked late that night.

            “You know why,” Steve hummed back. Justin had fallen asleep as soon as he hit one of the beds. And Steve had grabbed a chair from the small kitchenette and put it beside the bed. Waiting. “You’ve always known why. But please just tell me _why_. _Why?_ ”

            Justin didn’t answer at first. Almost like he couldn’t answer. And it made Steve feel cold because he had told the others his darkest secrets and he often feared that they didn’t feel the same way. This was killing him. He needed to know that they trusted him. And if they didn’t, Steve wasn’t sure what he would do. This was awful. He hated it. Hated this silence more than anything.

            “I’m a failure, Steve,” Justin finally sobbed out. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t handle it. I’m going to drop out of college. I’m going to quit. Because I’m a fool and an idiot. I just can’t.”

            And Steve had to hold back a breath of relief. The fact that his brother was rambling didn’t bother him at all. He was just glad his brother trusted him enough to ramble at all.

            “You’re not a failure,” Steve offered gently. “I swear you’re not. You’re amazing, you idiot. Look at you, off at college trying to become a better person. I could never.”

            “But you know what you want to do,” Justin whispered. “You know what your future holds.”

            And Steve absolutely stopped. Justin had been doing this thing where he struggled to choose a career path. Which was why he was attending the college he had chosen. They were supposed to help him guide him.

            “You’re right,” Steve spoke firmly. “I do know what job I want to do.” He paused, letting Justin stare blankly at the ceiling. “But I have no idea what I want to do in the future.”

            Justin’s head snapped to Steve in confusion. And in that moment, desperate times called for desperate measures. So he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

            “Hey, yeah, it’s Steve,” he paused into the phone, casting a glance at Justin. “Yes, I know what time it is, but this is important. I just need to talk to your mom. No. No it can’t wait till morning. Jonathan, seriously, just go get your mom. Please. Thanks man. I know, I know. I owe you.”

            Steve waited, motioning Justin to move closer. He did, still very much confused. It made Steve smile at his brother.

            “Hey, Joyce, I’m really sorry about this,” Steve quickly apologized into the phone. “I just- do you remember that conversation we had the week before I left for the academy. Yeah, that one. Can you give it again, this time to Justin? Yeah, I’m with him now.”

            The phone was passed to Justin, and though Steve couldn’t hear the conversation, he knew what Joyce was telling Justin. He’d had that same conversation with her.

_“Steve, it’s okay to not know. Sure, the police academy will be great. Maybe that is what you need to do, but there is no shame in not knowing the future. Look at me, I’m in my forties and I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. My point is, you can’t expect life to hand you your future on a silver platter. You need to let it guide you. To let it direct you. Things will be hard, and there will be obstacles, but it’s okay to never know what you want to do. All you really need to know is that you love your life in the moment. Even when things get bad and monsters try to kidnap and possess your children.”_

            He’d lived off those words at the academy. And now, he hoped that Justin’s tears and whispered replies would mean he would live by those words too. Because Justin was brilliant and amazing. He deserved to have someone take care of him.

            Justin hung up the phone, leaned against Steve’s shoulder, and released a shaky sigh.

            “Thank you.”

            Steve stayed with his brother that night and brought him back to his dorm the next day. The roommate did some serious cleaning while Justin was gone, and Justin apologized over and over.

            “You did good,” the roommate grinned. “Any chance I could get you to stay?”

            Steve shook his head, smiling sadly. “He’d never forgive himself if I stayed.”

            Not that Steve hadn’t thought about it.

\-----------------------------------

            Of all the things Steve would be returning to Hawkins early for, this was not one of them. Honestly, he just assumed it would be because one of the kids had finally done something stupid enough to get one of them killed. Or maybe even the Upside Down coming back. Or better yet, he might have come back because his parents had finally died, and the other parent was to “busy” to plan a funeral.

            But under no circumstance did Steve believe that he would be coming home because Nancy and Jonathan got into a fight bad enough to make them break-up. That was just absurd.

            Heck, when Will first called, Steve had even checked the calendar to make sure it wasn’t an April Fools joke. It was the middle of May. Then Mike called. And Joyce called. And Dustin called. And Robin called. And El called. And, heck, even Karen Wheeler called him because whatever happened was that bad.

            “I should just be a therapist,” Steve grumbled to Hopper as he got out of the car. “That’s all I seem to do now a days. Therapy. Honestly, I’ll never be an officer like this.”

            Hopper scoffed. “Your teachers are trying to calculate when you’ll graduate with all the extra time you keep putting in to complete the classes and take care of your family. I wouldn’t be worried.”

            Steve said nothing, just trudged into Hopper’s cabin where Nancy and Jonathan were practically tied down to the couch. El quickly released her hold on the two and gave Steve a fierce hug.

            “This is stupid,” Nancy spat. “Why does my ex get to give me advice on my ex?”

            “Because Jonathan Byers is the best thing that ever happened to you, and vice versa, so if you think I’m going to sit around and do nothing then you have another thing coming,” Steve said as he dragged a chair in front of them. “Now, someone better tell me what this argument is about. And I will make El look into your minds if one of you doesn’t tell me.”

            El nodded at Steve’s side, looking very serious about this matter.

            The fight, it turned out, had been about college. Jonathan and Nancy were looking at schools when Jonathan admitted he didn’t think he would get into NYU. One thing led to another, the fight flew out of proportion, and Nancy and Jonathan broke up. It took five hours and 24 minutes for Steve to probe the whole story out of the two of them. Then it took another two hours and 36 minutes to get them to see sense. They were kissing by the end of it, making out more accurately with tears pouring down their faces, and apologies between breaths. Steve and El left them alone in the cabin to sit outside.

            “If you ever get into a fight with Mike like that, I am not fixing it,” Steve stated, not looking at El. His head was towards the starry night sky, but his eyes were closed. “You can make Dustin or Max fix it. Will is a maybe, and I don’t really trust Lucas with dating advice because he’s awkward about dating. But Erica might help too. Just not me.”

            “You’d fix it anyways,” El hummed from beside Steve.

            She wasn’t wrong. He probably would. No, he definitely would. His life was messed up.

            It was nice to see Gareth, Robin, Michelle, Victoria, and Christopher again too. They had a “sleepover” in the apartment that night, having dinner with the kids too. Then Steve was back off to the academy. Someone in the hall teased Steve, and Steve just felt his body sag. He suddenly just felt tired. So very tired.

\----------------------------------

            The last surprise came near the end of the academy training for the first year. And it happened when Steve was called down to the office only to find Michelle. The other trainees watched as Michelle raced the training field with ease.

            “She makes us look like armatures,” Burt, a fellow trainee, commented.

            “She does that a lot,” Steve grimaced. Whatever was going on, it was bad. “She even walked here, too.”

            Hank let out an impressed whistle. “Girl’s got stamina.”

            That was an understatement. Michelle was angry, and there was no stopping her when she was angry. Not even the walk had calmed Michelle down, so Steve got permission to let her run the course.

            “She just beat a record,” Coach Porter grunted.

            She’d run it at least sixteen times. Steve had lost count at sometime and guesstimated. Then Michelle stopped, and Coach Porter herded everyone away.

            “He slept with another woman,” Michelle stated when Steve got close. “I know he’s a jerk. Has been my whole life, but this was a new low. Even for him. How dare he put her through that. How dare he!”

            The last part became a scream that echoed through the training field, and she promptly sank to her knees. Steve carefully tucked his sister to his chest, pulling her close and resting his chin on her head. She liked it when he did that. She had once told him that she felt like she could be vulnerable when he held her like that. Like nothing mattered and she didn’t need to be strong. She normally hated being weak.

            “How do you live off this stuff,” Michelle gagged later as they ate. Some of Steve’s friends laughed as she told jokes. “This is disgusting.”

            “We tell ourselves that we’ll get better food once this is over,” Freddie joked. “Then we pinch our noses and eat it.”

            Michelle snorted at that, shoveling more food into her mouth. They hadn’t talked about it. Not after the outburst, and still not hours later. He would get her to talk about it in the car ride home, one way or another.

            But as the night kept going, and they finally made their way to Steve’s car, his mind had already gone someplace dark. Just like it had with Justin. But as he pulled into the main road, Michelle started talking.

            “I know my parents have always been at odds,” Michelle shrugged, “but it wasn’t bad. They were mushy all the time, pretending I wasn’t there. Dad went to work and got home late sometimes, but I never thought about it. Guess that was done because he was sleeping with some other woman he met at a bar until she got pregnant. He’s been paying her. He never wanted kids, and she didn’t want to lose the baby. So now he’s got a five year old baby, and he doesn’t care about her.”

            Michelle paused to furiously wipe at her eyes. She hated crying. Steve knew that.

            “Her name is Hannah,” Michelle sniffed. “Mom doesn’t want her and dad doesn’t care. And since I’m eighteen, they wanted to know if I could take her in. I said yes. I don’t know why. I really don’t. But I said yes, and they’ve already checked the apartment and confirmed she can stay there with me and Robin. But I don’t know why I said yes. I’m getting her in four days, and I have no idea why I said yes.”

            “Because you never want her, or anyone else, to go through what you went through,” Steve informed her.

            She leaned her head against his shoulder the whole ride home, and Steve sang softly to the radio. She liked it when he sang, when they all sang. But it was just him this time, so he sang as she took the moment to let everything sink in.

            Four days later, Steve got a picture in the mail from Jonathan of little Hannah and Michelle Jefferson. It made him beam.

\---------------------------

            The first year over, Steve came home for break, and promptly passed out on the couch bed of the apartment. No one could blame him as he had denied all phone calls and hadn’t responded to any letters over the last two weeks due to finals. The guy was clearly exhausted, and they would gladly give him the space he desired. He passed, of course, but no one had the guts to argue with Steve as he ran himself ragged.

            “You’re amazing,” Avery smiled at him as he scarfed down pizza. “You know that?”

            He grinned at her through a mouth full of pizza. He did now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever just sit with people your (sort of) friends with (because I only recently just met these people and wouldn't call us friends quite yet) and just randomly switch topics of conversation. The other day we were talking about senior pranks and terrible high school principles and then suddenly we all wanted crepes. Just, out of the blue. We all wanted crepes. And we had not been talking about any sort of food at all. 
> 
> People are weird.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second year of Academy training and Steve is just waiting for something to go wrong. Honestly and whole heartedly. Things do go wrong, but Steve isn't sure he can handle these problems and finish his schooling. As he tries to help his family, he realizes he has to make a tough choice. He just isn't sure why he didn't make the choice ages ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go. Part three, year two, and more angst. A little sweet at the ending though.

            The second year of training kicked off, and Steve just wanted to die. If he thought the first year was hard, it was like someone was constantly punching him in the gut this time around. And he had been beat up before, so he knew what it felt like. Justin and Avery were both back in college, Justin deciding he want to be a doctor near the end of the spring semester because “someone needs to fix you before you nearly die again, Steve.” Victoria was attending a college to get experience. She didn’t have a decided major, nor a decided job, but she definitely wasn’t as worried as Justin. Michelle was interning at the Hawkins paper, hoping to get experience to work up, but saving up for college too. Robin and Gareth were still working jobs. Nancy and Jonathan were both attending college in New York. And Christopher was a junior in high school now. Not to mention, Steve was still at the academy.

            “You’re exaggerating,” Dustin huffed over the phone during one of their many phone calls. “Honestly. It’s like school but more physical. Just relax and stop stressing.”

            Easier said than done, Steve had grumbled back. He was constantly trying to find a problem. Constantly waiting for someone to need him. Because he knew, undoubtedly, that it would happen. He read each letter with a sense of dread. Took each phone call with baited-breath.

            “Steve,” Coach Porter put a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, kid. I realize things are tough. They’re going to be tough times ahead. But you don’t need to make this decision now. Give it a month at least.”

            “And what if I can’t handle it?” Steve asked, already panicked. “What if I can’t do enough. I can’t always be here and be with my family at the same time.”

            Coach Porter rubbed his face a bit as he sighed. “Listen,” he started slowly. “You’re one of the best future officers here. You’re dedicated, determined, and you’ve got a drive like nobody’s business. But you also have a big heart. The fact is, Steve, you won’t always be there for your family. And that’s okay. Sometimes it’s best if your family figures things out on their own. Besides, what would they say if they heard you planned to drop out when you were so close?”

            They’d kill him. No doubt about it. Steve was already picturing his headstone and coffin. So he sighed, nodded, and left the office. He’d been having this fight with himself so often. The one thing he couldn’t tell his family about.

            “I can do this,” Steve breathed as he went to settle for the night. “I can do this. For them. For myself. I can get through this. I can. I can. I can.”

            He just had to keep telling himself that. Maybe someday he would actually believe himself. But a part of him doubted it too.

\--------------------------------------

            As Steve suspected, there was a sort of problem. Well, it wasn’t so much of a problem, but it had his family worried. Christopher was taking night classes. If there was anyone who could pull off night and day classes, it was definitely going to be Christopher. They all knew this, and they were proud that he was testing himself and his ability. He was extremely smart after all.

            But there was a thing where a person could push themselves too much.

            “Hey, hey, hey,” Steve pulled the three textbooks Christopher had brought to the apartment away. “I’m only here for today. That’s it. You can spend time with me before I have to head back to the academy.”

            Christopher fidgeted. The first warning sign. Steve eyed his little brother as Christopher glanced at the textbooks in worry before moving to the couch bed. Hannah was in Gareth’s lap, to everyone’s surprise. But it was also obvious that Gareth was _amazing_ with kids, and he may or may not have been spoiling Hannah constantly.

            “Why don’t you just have kids of your own?” Robin was asking as Gareth played with Hannah. At least, that was when Steve tuned back into the conversation after eyeing Christopher a bit longer. Was he skinner? “I mean, get married and have kids of your own to spoil. You’re really good at this dad thing.”

            Gareth shook his head. “I swore off love,” he stated. “At least, romantic love anyways. I’m lucky enough to have five great sisters who understand my anger issues, but can you imagine me living alone with a wife. It would be chaos. I’d probably hurt her and the kids. Better to stay single and just kidnap all of your kids from time to time than spend my life trying to find someone who will understand.”

            There was no sense in arguing. This was about pity because Gareth was content. Happy, even. It wasn’t bad, just different, and Gareth had always been a different sort of person.

            “Christopher,” Michelle called out as if said guy was far away. She even started to wave her hand in his face. “Christopher, wake up.”

            Christopher blinked. The second warning of the day. Steve was not okay with this sudden change, but wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.

            “Where did you go, buddy?” Gareth asked, almost teasing. “You were miles away.”

            Sorry,” Christopher grinned sheepishly. And that was that.

            Only, it wasn’t. As the others talked and Steve spend some time with Hannah, Christopher kept zoning out. Kept getting distracted. Kept casting worried glances at his textbooks. It was nearing lunch time when Steve had enough. He quickly passed Hannah to Robin, grabbed Christopher’s arm, and dragged him into the bedroom in the back.

            “Alright,” Steve sighed, crossing his arms as he stared at his little brother. “What’s going on?”

            Christopher seemed to shrink in on himself, so Steve changed his stance to “mom pose,” as the kids called it, because it was less threatening. Christopher eyed Steve for a moment before sinking onto the edge of the bed.

            “I just, feel alone,” Christopher sniffed.

            Ah. Steve and the others had been afraid of this. As the youngest members in the group, they were all afraid and worried about what would happen with him being without any of his friends. Steve was getting his answer now as Christopher kept going. He sank down beside Christopher, watching him as he rambled

            “So I, uh, talked to the councilor and she said that I could technically graduate this year if I took night classes too,” he explained quickly. Too quickly. “And that if I studied hard, I would be able to be done, and go to college, and maybe I wouldn’t be so alone. You know? So I, uh-”

            “Slow down,” Steve chuckled, as he put a hand on Christopher’s back. “You’re fine, okay? I’m just worried about you. It’s one thing to study hard, but it’s a completely other thing to make studying the _only_ thing you do. You don’t want to push us away, do you?”

            “No!” Christopher cried a bit too loudly.

            “You guys okay?” Robin’s voice calls through the door.

            “Fine,” Steve calls back. “Just fine. Don’t worry.”

            Robin’s voice grumbles something on the other side of the door, but Steve is back to his little brother. Christopher looks positively mortified.

            “Then spend time with us,” Steve nudged him. “You can and will graduate if that is really what you want, but you can’t do that if you close yourself away. You’ll be fine. You probably have like a 105% in one of your classes anyways.”

            Christopher chuckles and sniffs. “Actually, it’s 110%. I did both bits of extra credit.”

            Steve laughed and ruffled Christopher’s hair. Then, when Christopher was done trying to fix his now ruined hair, Steve wrapped him in a hug.

            “You’ll be great,” Steve whispered. “But we want to be there when you are great.”

            Christopher nodded, burying his head in Steve’s shoulder. And if his brother cried a bit, Steve didn’t mind. He just held him until he was ready. The food that was waiting was nice though. Hannah wouldn’t let Gareth touch the food until the two were served first, so there was at least food for Steve and Christopher to eat.

\----------------------------

            “You need to go to college or something,” Steve told Robin as she sat in his room at the academy.

            She’d just sort of, showed up. Unlike Michelle, she had not walked, but had driven up to the school with the need to get away from her stupid job. And honestly, having gone from ice-cream to noodles was not a good mix. Steve had no idea why she hadn’t just moved on and done something exciting. She was actually rather good in odd situations.

            “You really think I’m a college girl,” Robin snarked, flipping through one of Steve’s work books of laws and actions and other policy thing.

            “Maybe if you studied law,” Steve chucked a wad of notebook paper at her head. “Became like, a traveling detective. Like that Sherlock Holmes guy from that story you and Avery made me read. But, you know, nicer.”

            Robin sort of just blinks at him.

            “You like the adventure, Robin,” Steve met her eyes fully now. “We both know that. Sometimes we talk about the Upside Down and what we did, and you don’t look morbid. You look wistful. And in some ways, I understand. Sometimes I wish it would just come back because it’s a reassurance that I still have my family. That we all still care for each other. But you. You miss the adventure.”

            “Steve,” Robin begins, her mouth probably dry. “I don’t know what to say.”

            “It’s not healthy,” Steve said, still prowling on. “But it isn’t necessarily bad. You’re a girl looking for adventure, and now that you had a taste, you want more. So maybe you should study law and get a job where there will always be that adventure. Just without monsters.”

            Robin blinks at him, but Steve just grins and goes back to studying the other work book. Robin glances down at the one in her hands and starts reading. She won’t deny that her heart rate picked up at the thought of solving a murder or two.

            Robin stays the night, and Avery shows up the next day. Christmas break is coming up and they all planned to travel home together. Justin, according to Robin, had already arrived at the apartment when she had left. Something about him cooing over Hannah while Michelle just sort of smiled at him. Of all of Michelle’s family, Hannah liked Justin and Gareth the most. Though Steve fought hard for third place.

            “You should totally become a detective,” Avery beamed at Robin. “You’re really good at solving mysteries in stories, and I know how much you love a good thriller. It would be perfect.”

            “It’s scary how the two of you just always agree on everything,” Robin pointed out.

            “That’s not true,” Steve shook his head. “Avery thinks turkey is better than ham. Which is stupid because ham far surpasses turkey.”

            “Liar!” Avery slapped Steve with a pillow. “Turkey is definitely better.”

            “What about bacon?” Steve tried.

            “We’ve been eating turkey bacon ever since we moved into the apartment because it was cheaper,” Avery stated, looking all too smug.

            “Touché,” Steve grumbled.

            As much as everyone said they agreed, Steve and Avery had two major fights since they got to know each other. The first was over Avery slitting her wrists, and much like the argument with Nancy and Jonathan, it had gotten a little out of hand. But they both recovered. The second argument was about Steve, much to everyone’s surprise. And neither one of them would say what it was about.

            Robin went to the bathroom, and Avery instantly became morbid.

            “Steve,” she cooed gently as he curled up in her arms. “Listen to me, Steve. You can do this. You can, and you will. You are brilliant and amazing and everyone who loves you knows that.”

            Steve released a shuddering breath and then sobbed into her stomach. It sounded so different, so much better, when she said it. And if Avery believed he could do it. If Avery believe he could finish school and be there for his family. Then he could do.

            It was like nothing happened when Robin got back. They slept in a huddle on Steve’s bed, Steve keeping both girls close so as no one would fall of, but he may have kept Avery just a bit closer. Just a bit.

\-----------------------------------

            Steve was not sure what was going on, but everyone else had noticed it. Plus, it was Christmas Eve, and this was _still_ going on. And by the looks Steve was being given by the people not involved in what ever this was, Steve was going to be dealing with.

            “Back off, Dustin,” Mike snapped, and El glared at him.

            “Guys, please,” Will tried.

            “Can you all just stop shouting!” Lucas yelled at them all.

            “You’re all idiots,” Max hissed.

            “What, you want me to stop breathing too?” Dustin growled.

            Oh yeah, Steve had had it with whatever _this_ was.

            “ENOUGH!”

            The entire house fell silent as Steve slammed his mug of eggnog down and spun on the six kids. They each jerked, completely terrified. For all that the group jerked about Steve being a mom, “angry mom Steve” was just as terrifying as an actual angry mom. And this was, in fact, an “angry mom Steve” moment.

            “Basement,” Steve barked out. “Now.”

            None of the six kids argued as they raced for the stairs. Steve waited for them to get downstairs before Steve regained his bearing and turned to Karen.

            “Just play some Christmas music really loudly,” he told her. “This might take a while.”

            “As long as you fix it,” Karen kissed the side of his head in encouragement and then went to the cassette player to turn up the volume.

            The kids were not talking or looking at each other as Steve descended the stairs in complete mother-mode.

            “We’re sorry,” they all said at once.

            “Sorry isn’t going to cut it,” Steve snapped at them, making them all flinch. “Whatever this is, it’s as stupid as Jonathan and Nancy breaking up. So someone better tell me what happened so we can fix it. And we are not leaving this basement until we figure _something_ out. And that includes skipping Christmas to stay down here if you don’t cooperate.”

            The kids looked absolutely scandalized and instantly began talking at once. Steve, of course, had to get them to all shut up. He then chose Will to explain because over the last week, the poor kid had been trying to play Switzerland to his group of friends. Not taking a side, but still trying to be supportive. He would be the least biased in his explanation.

            “I’m not sure when it started,” Will admitted. “But we all just sort of started fighting all the time. About likes, and classes, and D&D, and just everything. I don’t know what changed, but everyone just kind of seemed to be going for each other’s throats.”

            “Well someone better have an explanation,” Steve hissed at the other five, who flinched back, looking guilty.

            At least the five idiots had the decency to keep Will out of the argument for the most part. He’d already been through enough, and they all knew that. And his five friends had the decency to protect him from the fight somewhat. But the fact Will was involved at all was too much. Because Steve didn’t even need to see their faces to know there was more to the story.

            “Will, you’re dismissed to go have a fun Christmas,” Steve stated, leaving no room for argument on any side. “Go spend time with your brother and the others. And tell Avery to be on standby. Because my normal help is apparently apart of this stupid fiasco.”

            El looked like she had been struck at those words, but Steve was far too angry to cave to her tears. And she knew this as she finally met his gaze. Mike seemed to be able to tell that she was more upset about this and tried to grab her hand, but she jerked away, waiting for Will to climb up the stairs and for the door to be shut.

            “It was stupid,” El spat the last word, her tears finally falling. “It was all stupid. We were stupid.” She let out a sob, scooting away from Mike a second time as he tried to comfort her again. She shook her head at Mike, a silent look that said she didn’t deserve it. “We were just playing a game, and I got hit in the head. It was an accident, but Mike snapped, and Max snapped, and then everyone got angry. Will wasn’t there, he had a dentist appointment. And it was an accident, I know it was. But we all just got so angry. Like Nancy and Jonathan.”

            She stopped there, but just to watch Steve. El was usually the one by Steve’s side whenever there was a fight. Her ability to read minds usually helpful whenever someone wanted to lie about something. But she knew how to read Steve because of those sessions. So when Steve sat down and offered his hands, she gratefully accepted and moved to sit in his lap and rest against his chest. The anger was gone, and Steve just wanted to understand.

            “We just kept getting angry, irritated,” El continued. “It was like we couldn’t forgive each other because we said bad things to each other. And I didn’t like it, but everyone else was doing it, and then Will got upset so we tried not to be angry at each other around him. But we just kept getting angry. So angry.”

            “Guilty,” Steve cut in. “You all felt guilty because you wanted to forgive each other, but you said terrible things. So rather than try to apologize, you made it worse in hopes it would stop the guilt. And it made you angry.”

            That seemed to make sense to the kids, and Dustin wiped his eyes, instantly the first to apologize. Then El was apologizing over and over, and Lucas was apologizing, and Max and Mike apologized at the same time. The two of them starting that weird handshake thing they did whenever they had wronged each other and going around until all the kids had done it and forgiven each other.

            “Now you just need to apologize to Will,” Steve prompted them as they dried tears and hugged a bit. “Go on.”

            They didn’t need to be told twice, and the group instantly ran up the stairs, shouting for Will. Footsteps softly padded down the stairs barely heard over the sound of the kids shouting for their friend and loudly apologizing.

            “I should just be a therapist,” Steve grumbled. “Honestly.”

            Avery giggled and settled into Steve’s lap where El had vacated moments ago. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her hair and breathing her in. He missed every time she was away. Of everyone in their family, Steve missed her the most.

            “Hannah says your ‘angry mom Steve’ voice sounds like Darth Vader,” Avery informed. “So you couldn’t be scary because Darth Vader isn’t actually scary in the last movie.”

            Steve let out a bark of laughter at that. She always did know what to say. And he loved that about her. He loved her so much. Steve and Avery went upstairs, and Steve continued to tease Victoria and Matthew, but the boyfriend definitely seemed more relaxed. Justin seemed odd, constantly flittering around Michelle, but she didn’t seem to mind either. He and Avery exchanged a glance, but Gareth knocked them both out of it by giving them eggnog. Very much spiked eggnog. Avery gave her cup to Ted, who grabbed it without looking and drank it happily. That man was going to have heartburn in the morning.

\--------------------------------

            Things seemed to go smoothly after that, not that Steve wasn’t on edge. There were a few minor problems, but Steve relatively handled those over the phone. He had a week off at the academy, and Avery was to have a few days off too. So he was going to meet her. Only, something was wrong. Her roommates and dormmates looked panicked.

            “What’s wrong?” Steve approached, eyeing the nervous girls. “Where’s Avery?”

            “Are you her friend,” one of the girls asked.

            Steve had only just started to nod when the group of girls began to drag him someplace. Avery was on a table, staring at a wall, with a _knife_ in her hands. Her wrist was faced to the roof, knife just about to cut.

            “Avery,” Steve breathed, not daring to move.

            The knife clattered to the ground.

            Silent sobs began to wrack Avery’s body as she buried her face in her hands. Steve had her cradled to his chest in seconds, holding her like a lifeline and giving her one in return. They were both drowning, Steve supposed, unable to see the shore, unable to swim away. But they were both trying to save the other. So, he supposed they would just need to keep throwing those life lines until one of them finally drifted close enough to shore to pull the other to safety too. They couldn’t stop themselves from drowning, but they could at least keep each other afloat.

            “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

            “I know,” Steve whispered to her. “I know. I’m here now, though. I’m here. I love you. I’m here. I love you.”

            “I love you too,” Avery sobbed back. “I love you so much, Steve.”

            He kissed her forehead then, letting it linger as she continued to apologize. He knew she needed to apologize. Knew she needed to let everything go. So he kissed her forehead as she sobbed out apologizes.

            They moved back to Avery’s dorm, and Steve had been hoping to wait on his gift until he left. He had hoped it to be a goodbye present and a promise, but this was different. So as she sat on the bed, he finally worked up his nerves, got on his knees, and kissed her. As passionately as he dared knowing this was her first kiss. And she kissed back, the salt of tears mixing into their mouths. And Steve kissed her again.

            “I love you, Avery,” Steve breathed as he pressed their foreheads together. “So, so much. I love you, and you need to know that.”

            “I love you too, Steve,” Avery whispered, letting Steve brush away her tears. “I’m sorry.”

            He kissed her again before she could apologize once more. She didn’t need to go down that path. Not now. Not with what he had planned.

            “I want to make you a promise,” Steve stated, putting their foreheads back together. “And if you can, I want you to promise me something in return.”

            Avery watched as Steve pulled away and pulled a long box out of his pocket. It was too thick to be a necklace box, but Avery wasn’t sure what it was until Steve had her open it.

            “Steve?”

            Inside was a knife, well, more of a dagger with a silver hilt and a red ruby embedded in it. The sheath was black, and the blade itself was undoubtedly sharp. Steve put his hand on top of the dagger as Avery held it against her palms. Flat side touching the delicate skin.

            “This will symbolize our promise,” Steve smiled at her. “Our promise to each other.”

            Avery seemed to swallow. “And what would that promise be?”

            Steve smiled, kissing her gently this time, and as her eyes remained closed as he pulled away, he whispered his promise.

            “I promise you, that as long as you carry this blade that I will never let my self-doubt hinder me from becoming the best person I can be. I will always do my best, even when I don’t believe my best is enough. That is my promise to you, Avery Walsh.”

            Avery shuttered, opening her eyes long enough to be the one to kiss Steve this time. And when she pulled away, he kept his eyes closed, she pressed their foreheads together and whispered her own promise.

            “And I promise you, that as long as I carry this blade and you live by your promise, that I will never let another blade touch my skin in self-harm ever again, no matter what I believe. I promise this blade will never touch my blood by my own hand as long as this blade is with me and neither shall another see my blood by my hand. That is my promise to you, Steve Harrington.”

            This wouldn’t be easy. They both knew it. In fact, the reason Steve had wanted to wait till he left to give Avery the blade was because there was a chance, he wasn’t going to give Avery the blade at all. There was a chance he might have still dropped out. But she had needed him to make the promise just as much as he needed her to make a promise. So he gave her the blade. They spent the rest of Avery’s free time laughing and telling stories, and when he kissed her goodbye, he kissed the flat of the blade too.

            Steve had never been so determined to keep a promise.

\--------------------------

            Steve graduated, because of course he did. He had promised he would, and Avery was there to beam at him the entire time the graduation ceremony took place. Hopper was more than eager to hire Steve, especially after coach Porter gave Hopper Steve’s record and final grades. Steve had also never worked so hard for something his life.

            Well, except for those times he kept saving people from dying terrible deaths at the hands of monsters, and killing Billy Hargrove, but he wasn’t going to talk about that. Wasn’t allowed to talk about that. So he didn’t.

            The kids had to be hushed as they tried to cheer during the ceremony just as loud as they had during Steve’s high school graduation. But he grinned at them, and even Steve’s most jerky teachers were amused by their antics.

            “You did good kid,” Hopper beamed as Steve fell into Joyce’s arms. “Just be warned, the others are going to make life hard.”

            “Believe me,” Steve chuckled. “I’m counting on it.”

            He greeted everyone, accepting their congratulations, and then her greeted Avery. They hadn’t told anyone yet, wanting to wait. Steve put his hand on her arm, cupping the blade where it rest against her arm, strapped securely on in place and hidden by her sleeve.

            And he kissed her through the surprised sounds of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so you know how I said I wanted to see more about Steve and the kids. Well, someone, not sure who, posted a story today about Steve and the kids. And it was cute, he gave Will his jacket because the kid was cold and he gave Max a sweater because she was bleeding.
> 
> So, I would love it if you could give me cute prompts like this so that I can write them. I've come up with some of my own that I can do, but I would love prompts. Please give prompts.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has graduated from the Academy and confessed to Avery. His family is changing, going their own ways, but they find ways to keep in touch. Seven years later and it is Hopper's fiftieth birthday. As Steve distracts his boss and father figure while the others plan a surprise party, a bit of closure is given to the two. Not quite father and son, but maybe close enough to be. And Steve has big plans for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, someone asked me for my chosen cast for the characters. So, after much thought, here they are;
> 
> Steve Harrington - Joe Keery  
> Gareth Brookes - Tye Sheridan  
> Christopher Smith - Levi Miller  
> Victoria Hardy - Madelaine Petsch  
> Michelle Jefferson - Chloe Grace Mortez  
> Justin Shawe - Jeremy Sumpter  
> Avery Walsh - Danielle Rose Russell

            Time really does fly sometimes. Granted, it doesn’t always feel like that, but seeing his family gathered in one place for the first time in years made him realize just how much they had all grown. Justin was finishing up his last year of med-school with a job opening already available in Hawkins Hospital. Victoria had settled down as a secretary for some government guy she met, and with Matthew’s help, the guy she worked for was helping to shut down Doctor Brenner’s work. Christopher graduated early, just as he said he would, and he got a job alongside Doctor Sam Owens, also helping with clean-up, and secretly helping the kids and adults that were being found. Michelle did, eventually, go to college, and she now worked as a journalist. Nancy also got a degree in journalism, sharing Jonathan as her photographer with Michelle, but she was also looking into the news realm. Jonathan and Nancy wanted to stay in New York, and Michelle was thinking of coming back home. Jonathan obviously got that degree in photography. Gareth was now the head of the mechanic shop, and one of the best in Indiana. People came from everywhere to get their cars fixed. Robin had also gone to school for criminal justice and was slowly working her way up as a detective. She had solved her first case months ago and had solved six others since then. Avery, of course, got her degree and was back in Hawkins at the public library. Mrs. Whittman was not retiring any time soon.

            It had been seven years since Steve graduated high school, and things were better than he ever thought they would be.

            “Quit ogling your girlfriend and come on, Harrington!” Mike’s yell snapped Steve from his thought. “We’ve got things to do! You most of all!”

            Steve chuckled as Mike struggled to carry the boxes and bags of supplies into the house. Hopper, thankfully, was already at work, so the house was open for them to decorate. Steve had dropped off some of the supplies and was about to head back out when everyone else arrived.

            Today was Hopper’s birthday, and Hopper firmly believed that he was going to be spending most of his birthday in the office, and then with just Joyce and Steve. Hopper didn’t really have very many friends, and with the kids in college, the others scattered with their own jobs, Gareth always busy, and the library usually closing late at night, it would have just been the three. If Mike and El hadn’t been planning this little escapade for the last three months. So, Steve was being tasked with distraction.

            “Go on,” Avery kissed his cheek. “We’ll all still be here when I page you.”

            Steve grinned at her and hopped in his car. He had a mini-cake in the passenger seat, and he was ready to put this plan in motion.

            “I do believe today is a very special day!” Steve bellowed into the office as he lifted the cake into the air. “Come on, birthday boy! You know we get to sing!”

            Hopper was going to kill him, but it would be worth it. They sang to a grumbling Hopper who couldn’t quite hide his amusement, then they passed the cake around. Then Steve managed to convince Callahan, Powell, and Flo to tell embarrassing stories about Hopper. Lunch was the hardest thing, because Hopper just wanted to go home, but Steve wasn’t having it, and eagerly dragged the man, and have the force, to Benny’s.

            “Alright, Harrington,” Hopper sighed as they made their way back to the office after lunch. “What gives?”

            “Well,” Steve shrugged, the lie already in place. “Your daughter isn’t here to celebrate. And I know how much she loved for you to enjoy your birthday. And if Jane heard I let you mop around all day, on your birthday, I would be a dead man. So we’re just going to celebrate the best we can. Joyce should be off soon by the way. She’ll swing by and spend the day with us too.”

            The truth was, Joyce had already taken off to make sure that Hopper’s house wasn’t going to be a mess. But to make it believable, the people at Melvald had excuses just in case, and Joyce was to pop by for a moment to “talk” before going to Hopper’s to make dinner. Sure enough, Joyce showed up a good twenty-five minutes after lunch.

            “How much longer do you think you can keep him away?” Powell asked as Joyce and Hopper chatted in his office.

            “Until I get paged,” Steve waved the device. “At least, I hope. Although, he needs me to help him at the cabin anyways with some things before we head home, so you’ll have time to get there.”

            Powell gave a nod with a bright grin and he wondered off to finish his paperwork. Steve did the same. It was about Hopper’s time to get off work that Joyce finally left. And Steve followed Hopper to the other man’s car to get to the cabin.

            “One last thing to get rid of,” Hopper gruffed as he pulled the trunk to where Steve was waiting beside a massive fire.

            Steve knew this trunk. Had helped Hopper put the thing inside it after he took it out of Joyce’s fridge. He never thought he’d see the thing again. But here it was, and neither man had the guts to open the trunk. But together, they threw it onto the fire.

            “Happy fiftieth birthday, Hop,” Steve patted the man’s shoulder.

            Hopper just hummed, content with his day. It rang loud and clear on the older man’s face that this was the happiest and most at peace he had felt at the same time in a long time. And Steve had to admit, knowing this last tie was gone, he felt much the same way.

            “Come on,” Steve tugged at the man. “Joyce will be waiting.”

            But Hopper stopped Steve for a moment to give him a hug. And it was the hug that El called “the-father-son-hug”. So Steve hugged back just as tightly. The two quickly brushed the tears from their eyes and wandered back to the car.

            “SURPRISE!”

            Steve just smiled softly at his father as Hopper laughed and embraced all of his kids, friends, and family. The party was great, the presents made Hopper beam and laugh and joke. It was refreshing, and it lifted a weight Steve didn’t know he had still carried. There was more cake too, and that went faster than the small one Steve brought to the office.

            “You did good,” Avery smiled up at him. “You did really good.”

            Steve found his hand moving up to where the dagger was hidden under her sleeve, where it always was. And she smiled up at him, just a tad brighter than she had been. It was enough to let Steve know she still hadn’t used it yet.

            “And you’re amazing,” he pressed his forehead to hers. “So very amazing.”

            Steve removed his forehead from Avery’s so she could lean into his side. And the two of them watched as everyone talked and laughed. Hannah and Holly were even running between the legs of the adults, pleased to be with each other again. It was an amazing night to say the least, and a peaceful day too.

\---------------------------

            It was a few days later that saw the group gathered together for dinner. No extra friends, just the group of monster hunters, including Mrs. Whittman and Erica. At first, they had tried to have this dinner as a type of anniversary, always on a specific date. That wasn’t always an option now, so the dinner happened whenever the entire group was together at once. Which wasn’t all that often. In fact, it had been a good three years since that happened.

            As had become tradition, there was one chair left open next to Max, one next to Joyce, and one next to Nancy. They’d debated leaving one for Mews too, but they simply got an empty cat dish. For the four people that lost their lives, a picture of each was placed on top of the plate in that particular spot. Billy, Bob, Barb, and Mews may not have physically been there, but they were there nonetheless.

            “I suppose it’s time to get this dinner starter,” Hopper stood, as he always did. “Well, then let’s start. I propose a toast to those we lost, and to those who are here, and to the fact that we all survived.”

            Hopper was terrible at this whole speech thing, a fact even Hopper knew. But it had become tradition for him to give the same weird speech to those fallen and those alive. He’d written better speeches since then, and the guy could generally give a good speech when he put the effort into it. But when he had given this particular speech, it was the first time they had a dinner, and no one was eating. So he gave a terrible speech, Mrs. Whittman explained what he meant, and they ate with the memory of those lost. An odd tradition, but it had made everyone giggle, so they kept it.

            Steve took the moment of everyone digging in to just stare around the table. Victoria had married Matthew a good few years ago, three years to exact, but it was agreed that Matthew never know. So, understanding this was something his wife needed to do alone, he stayed at the hotel for the night. Hannah was staying with the Wheeler’s, catching up with her old friend as they caught up after a good five years apart. Michelle and Justin were also sitting close, awkwardly flighting around each other. This had been going on for years and neither had confessed yet. It was obnoxious honestly. Nancy and Jonathan were engaged, a wedding planned in Hawkins in another few months. Which was also when Michelle planned to move back to Hawkins. And even El had a promise ring decorating her finger. Not engaged, neither was read for that to happen. But they were promised to each other. Just like Steve had his promise to Avery through the dagger.

            “And the kids?” Joyce was asking Christopher. “How are they?”

            “Well, the kids seem relatively alright,” Christopher was explaining his work in helping the experiments. “Those that aren’t okay with us are mostly those that look up to the adults. And the adults have good reason to be hostile towards us. So we don’t really blame them. It’s just been interesting trying to tip-toe around them. And, unfortunately, mistakes have been made.”

            “They’re more relaxed when I come,” El told the others. “They listen to me, and I trust Christopher, so they trust Christopher more than others.”

            “It just hurts to see them like this, you know,” Christopher shrugged. “I can’t even imagine what El was like when you guys first found her.”

            Neither could Steve. The first time he met El, she had killed a Demodog with her mind and walked into the room looking like a punk out of some MTV show. Jonathan had to explain who she was to him. He couldn’t really see her as anyone but the brave little girl who saved their lives. Well, at least not until the first day he watched her cry. Then she was just a scared, abused little girl who needed love. Steve had been more than willing to give that love.

            El’s smile at him showed that she had read his thoughts. But Steve didn’t mind. He just smiled back.

            “And there’s been nothing on the Upside Down,” Will asked.

            Only, he wasn’t scared as he said it. Will was just looking for conformation that he wouldn’t need to fight anytime soon. The fear had long since gone away. Or maybe it was just buried and waiting to come back. Steve wasn’t waiting to find out.

            “Nothing that we’ve picked up,” Christopher’s comment made everyone breathe in relief.

            “The rest of the worlds been pretty interesting though,” Michelle grinned as she and Nancy went on a tangent about the stories they were covering.

            It was nice, family like. At least, Steve hoped this was what family was supposed to be like. Ever since that day at Benny’s, Steve had not talked to his parents. They weren’t his family, no matter what the dictionary said a family was. He just hoped he’d be a better father than his biological parents were. Because he wanted to have kids and he wanted them to be loved.

            El gave him another, knowing smile, and Steve let out a shaky breath this time. The conversations and catching up were dying down, and there was one more thing Steve wanted to do before the night actually ended.

            “You mean the world to me,” Steve turned to Avery, keeping his voice soft so she could hear over the chatter of the others. “I don’t what I would do if I ever lost you. And I’m so, so glad we made those promises.”

            “I love you too,” Avery smiled back, her voice just as soft. “I wouldn’t change anything for the world because it gave me you.”

            “I love you,” Steve pressed his forehead to hers briefly before pulling a box from his pocket and getting on one knee. “And I want you to be by my side forever because I can’t bear to lose you.”

            Neither had noticed El shushing everyone. Neither had noticed the attention suddenly on them. They only had eyes for each other and the silver bad with the pure white gem in the center that Steve had clearly saved up for. It didn’t matter to Avery if the gem was a diamond or not. As far as Avery cared, he had proposed when he made her that promise, and she accepted his proposal when she promised right back. This was just making it official.

            “ _Yes._ ”

            The words were said like a breath and Steve was kissing Avery like no tomorrow as soon as it was off her lips. They ignored the cat calls and cheers of the others because all they cared about was each other.

            “I don’t know what the big deal is,” Michelle finally called out. “You two have been ghetto married since the day Steve gave Avery that knife.”

            “Pretty sure it’s a dagger,” Avery hummed back as she leaned into Steve’s side.

            “Wait,” Dustin called out. “What dagger?”

            They never did find out how Michelle found out about the dagger. It wasn’t like they talked about it, and Avery had never brought it out when they were around the others. But they weren’t going to question it either. Michelle had her ways.

\------------------------------------

            Steve couldn’t help but beam as he watched Nancy and Jonathan sway to the music. A part of him would always love Nancy, would always pang as he saw her after a long time without seeing her. But this, watching them together now, was calming. Nancy and Jonathan deserved each other and watching them have the first dance after their wedding was beautiful and heart-warming. He couldn’t wait to do this with Avery on their wedding day.

            Then the music for the first dance ended and everyone truly began to party. The music was a mix of Nancy’s love for pop and Jonathan’s weird music taste. Holly and Hannah were already raiding the food table with Gareth.

            “Kids,” Karen sighed as she moved to stand beside Steve and Avery.

            “Yeah,” Avery pointed at Gareth. “I think we understand.”

            “You’ll be getting Grandkids soon too,” Steve hummed.

            “Oh, please don’t,” Karen shook her head. “Grandma makes me sound old.”

            “You are far from old, Karen,” Steve snorted. “Besides, you get to chose what name your grandkids get to call you. Like Mimi, or Grammy, or something.”

            Karen just laughs at him, and then quickly goes to stop Hannah and Holly from drowning themselves in a chocolate fountain. And as Steve isn’t quite ready to join the dancing just yet. He’d gotten into the habit of observing people, making sure nothing was off about anyone or anything. A nervous tick. But then Avery suddenly nudged him in the side and Steve snapped to where she was pointing. And, oh, it was about time. Justin and Michelle were talking in the corner and she was smiling so brightly. There was only one thing that could be.

            “Bout time,” Gareth huffed as he shoved a cheese square in his mouth. “Honestly, it was just getting painful to watch.”

            The group slowly migrated over to the now beaming couple as the blushed and held hands. It was nice, seeing the two together. It only took them seven years to say something.

            “So who spoke first?” Victoria asked excitedly.

            “Justin,” Michelle ducked her head. “Justin asked first.”

            “And what was this about us not being _The Breakfast Club_?” Gareth teased. “Because I’m pretty sure the jock and the basket case just got together.”

            “Well then wouldn’t that have meant that you would have married Victoria?” Avery pointed out, grinning at her brother teasingly.

            Gareth looked like he’d been slapped. “I take it back,” Gareth stated instantly. “We are not the breakfast club. We are in no way, the breakfast club.”

            The others laughed at that.

            Later, because Lonnie was in no way shape or form invited to the part, Jonathan danced with Karen as Will danced with Will. Jonathan and Nancy had already danced with their respective parents, but they wanted to dance with their friends too. So Steve and Avery were on stand-by for the next dance.

            “I’d like to dance with you at your wedding,” Joyce told Steve as they waited. “As your mother at your wedding, if you would have me.”

            “Yeah,” Steve smiled wide at Joyce. “Yeah, I would like that. I think Hopper plans to walk Avery down the isle too. That would be great. I would love to dance with you as my mother.”

            Joyce smiled back, pecking Steve’s forehead and sending Steve to dance with Nancy.

            “You’re crying,” Nancy said as she let Steve dance her about.

            “I’m just really happy,” Steve smiled back at her.

            And he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have prompts for Steve and the kids, let me know and I will try to write them. I love prompts.


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Times passes, and Gareth is the type of Uncle who never wanted kids of his own, but he would spoil his nieces and nephews rotten. And Steve is worried about being a father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am looking for prompts to that people want to read about Steve and the kids.

            Gareth was, without a doubt, the Uncle who never wanted kids of his own, but would spoil the kids of his family rotten. That should have been evident with both Holly and Hannah, but Gareth still found ways to surprise Steve. Six years since Steve and Avery’s wedding, Steve and Avery bought a house and got Gareth to live with them. It didn’t seem right to leave Gareth alone in the apartment when everyone else was moving on. It had been one year since Avery had given birth to their five-year-old daughter, Annabelle. They now had a four-year-old son named Daniel, and a two-year-old daughter Lucy. And Gareth had just brought home a puppy.

            “He was just at the shelter,” Gareth was explaining as the kids, and Avery, got attached to the dog. “And he was alone, the runt of the litter, and he was all sad and mopey in his cage because his mom got adopted too but he didn’t. I couldn’t just leave him, Steve.”

            “Okay,” Steve nodded, eyeing the dog and knowing full well they would be keeping him. “So, why were you at the shelter.”

            “Because some idiot had a litter of cats in their car,” Gareth explained. “And I know Annabelle is allergic to cats, so I couldn’t bring them home. But apparently you have to fill out paperwork and I had finished my paperwork, but the client hadn’t. So I wandered around and saw him.”

            “Ah,” was all Steve could manage to say.

            “His name is Spud!” Daniel called to his father.

            Avery was not protesting, so Steve wasn’t going to say anything. He just watched the kids and his wife play with the puppy on the ground. He wasn’t sure if he could care for three children and a dog, but he wasn’t going to argue. Besides, he liked dogs. He was soon on the ground playing with Spud too.

\----------------------------------

            It had become a habit, he supposed, maybe not a good one, but a habit, nonetheless.

            “Max and Lucas had their first child, you know,” Steve spoke to the person. “They debated naming him after you, but they couldn’t do it. It still hurts her too much, and they already have a friend named Will to call their son anything else. They settled with Jordan. Max told me it was your mom’s name. I thought it was kind of weird, but it’s apparently a unisex name.”

            Billy’s grave sat before him, Barb’s not too far away. He had already talked to her though. And Bob. He always talked to them in the order in which they died.

            “My kids are doing okay, and the Byers are moving back here sometime soon,” Steve continued. “And Victoria loves her son, though I think she secretly wants to have another. I wouldn’t mind another kid either. Oh, little Samantha’s growing up too, she’s already best friends with Lucy, and they’re already trying to protect little Jordan. It’s kind of cute.”

            A soft breeze, warm and gentle, flew by. Steve stopped to push his head back and take in the feeling. It was nice.

            “I should probably stop boring you,” Steve chuckled at Billy’s grave. “And poor Joyce has probably had enough with my kids to last a life time. So I’ll be seeing you.”

            Rain or shine, Steve came out to the three graves once a month to just talk to those long gone. He wasn’t sure if they could hear him, but it was almost therapeutic to tell someone about his life. Someone who would listen. He wondered if Billy was finally at peace. Having died at Steve’s hands, Steve still had nightmares. They’d stopped since he started doing this. Well, not stopped, but slowed down at least.

            Avery knew he did this; knew he needed this time. It was his way of taking Billy’s blood off his hands, taking away the guilt of losing Barb, and easing the loss of Bob, the man he never got to meet. He wondered if Bob would have been like a father to him, of Barb would have become his friend, if he’d fix things with Billy. But that would have meant wishing the monsters away, and Steve doubted he would be like this without the monsters. He wouldn’t have met or married Avery either. Wouldn’t have had his kids or family. So, even though the monsters brought bad things, they brought good too.

            The moment Steve knocked on the door to the Byers house, he was instantly greeted in a hug by Joyce. His mom. He’d started calling her that shortly after the experience at his wedding when they shared a dance as mother and son. And Joyce sobbed as she had for Jonathan, beaming in pride at him as if he was her own son. “Joyce” and “Mrs. Byers” no longer fit her. Just as “Jim,” “Hopper,” “Hop,” “Chief,” and “Boss” no longer fit Hopper. They were mom and dad now.

            “Grandma!” a voice called from inside the house. “Grandma! Look! I drew a picture!”

            Annabelle dashed around the corner, waving a picture in the air, only to stop. Then she was dashing at Steve and tackling him in a hug. Steve gave out a playful sound and pretend to fall over as his daughter laughed giddily.

            “Daddy!” Daniel cried as he and Lucy raced around the corner, quickly jumping on top of their dad, causing Steve to give an actual sound of pain. “Hi, Daddy!”

            “Hey, buddy,” Steve chuckled, lifting all three of his children up in his arms. “Were you guys good for Grandma?”

            “Yes,” the three chorused.

            “I won’t say they were angels,” Joyce teased, “but they’re good kids. You’ve done an amazing job, Steve.”

            It made Steve’s heart flutter to hear that. There was no doubt in everyone’s mind that Steve feared he would become a terrible parent. He feared being cold, distant, and abusive like his own parents. But Avery never let him keep that fear, constantly assuring him. It helped to have the assurance of others too.

            “Look, daddy!” Annabelle showed Steve her picture.

            And Steve smiled at the picture. She was no Will Byers, but the little girl loved to draw, and Steve intended to let her know she could do whatever she wanted. No one was going to bring his baby girl down as long as he was alive. On the paper was a sloppy drawing of a bird, and one Steve had never seen before.

            “That’s amazing,” Steve praised, kissing his daughter’s head. “Does he have friends?”

            “No,” Annabelle shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t drawn them yet.”

            “Well why don’t you draw him some friends,” Steve smiled back at her. “Everybody needs friends.”

            “No,” Annabelle shook her head. “You don’t need friends. Just family.”

            Annabelle skipped off, her siblings following in her wake. And Steve couldn’t help but smile. Kids, he had discovered, had an odd way of seeing the world. Perhaps that was why El was found by the boys that night. Because most would have made the mistake of calling someone and end up like Benny Hammond. But kids could take a situation and determine their own version of what to do. Even if it wasn’t a good decision, they could generally get something done.

            “How was it,” Joyce asked, already looking Steve over.

            “It was nice,” Steve nodded, smiling at Joyce and leaning into his mom’s embrace. “It was relaxing. I told Billy about Jordan, because I know Max won’t go down there. I know it still hurts to much. Told Barb and Bob about Nancy and Jonathan’s kids.”

            Four-year-old Emily was a spit fire, and happy to be so. Two-year-old Benjamin was Lucy’s best friend, and a bit on the shyer side, though Lucy made up for that. They were great kids. And Steve loved them as his own. Just as he loved Jordan Sinclair and Samantha Wheeler. Just as he loved Matthew and Victoria’s six year old son Jamie Dixon. And just as he loved four-year-old Cameron and three-year-old Jenna Shawe, Michelle and Justin’s children. It was a giddy feeling knowing that he had a family that _could_ grow as it had been.

            “I can’t wait for this dinner,” Steve smiled at Joyce. “I honestly just cannot wait.”

            Joyce smiled back. “Neither can I.”

\-----------------------------

            Avery had gotten sick a few weeks ago, so naturally they went to the doctor. But there was nothing to be worried about. It was good news, and Steve definitely did not cry. Nope. Nu-uh. No crying or tears from Steve. Okay. There were some tears. And by some, he meant a lot of tears. But he and Jonathan were on the couching, both beaming at each other as Nancy and Avery sobbed in the middle of the floor. Annabelle called them weirdos and led the other four from the room.

            “We’re going to have our babies at the same time,” Nancy sobbed out for the six billionth time in the last hour. “Oh, we’re going to have our babies at the same time.”

            At this point, Steve could no longer deny he was sobbing too.

            Nancy and Steve had remained best friends after the break-up, though rocky at first. So, naturally, it had become tradition for the two families to tell each other first in person when they were pregnant before telling anyone else. Traditions just sort of stuck because it meant they actually had a family to have traditions with.

            So when Nancy and Jonathan finally got into town, they went straight to the Harrington house. Thankfully, Gareth wasn’t home, because that would have been a mess. And when Nancy had blurted out, she was two months pregnant, Avery burst into a laugh before confessing that she was around one month pregnant at least. Then there were a lot of tears as their children judged them from the entryway into the doorway.

            “Don’t go in the living room, Uncle Gareth,” Annabelle called into the house. “They’ve gone crazy.”

            Gareth took one look into the living room, declared he was taking the kids for ice-cream, and left them in the house with Spud trying to lick their faces. At least, until Lucy ran into the house and took Spud to the car.

            That night at dinner, the news had everyone sobbing and crying and laughing. And once more, the kids judged their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandkids like no tomorrow.

            “They’re crazy,” Jamie whispered to Annabelle.

            Annabelle just nodded.

            As the months passed, everything seemed fine until it came time to deliver the babies. And Avery went into labor four weeks early. Horrified, Steve rushed his wife to the doctor, leaving Gareth with the kids to call everyone. There was far too much panic, and the waiting room was beyond maxed out with the amount of people waiting for news. It took thirteen hours before Avery actually started to give birth, and another five hours for the babies to come out.

            That’s right. Babies. Plural. Steve some how found himself holding twins as his wife slept off the pain. His other three children were currently the only ones allowed in the room, though Steve had tried to argue that the others be allowed, but they could all see he was too exhausted and worried to do much else. There had been far too many complications while Avery had given birth and they were afraid she or the babies would have died.

            Annabelle was currently holding her mother’s dagger, hiding it from the doctors and waiting to give it back. And Steve sat by his wife’s side, dazed as his two babies slept in his arms. They were terrified, afraid that Avery would pass away any moment, and the kids were sitting in chairs.

            “Are they okay?”

            It was a whispered, but Steve whipped around to meet his wife’s gaze, tears in his eyes as he realized she was awake. The doctors had told him she may never wake up. But here she was, looking at her babies in fear and worry.

            “Yeah,” Steve’s voice cracked as he turned to show her that their babies were just sleeping. “Yeah. They’re okay. They’re fine. Perfect.”

            Avery beamed at Steve, a soft smile on her face. “What are they?”

            “Boy and girl,” Steve whispered, watching as his other three children moved to sit beside their mother. “Should we give them the names we came up with?”

            Avery smiled and nodded. “Maya and Oliver,” she whispered. “My babies.”

            Steve chuckled, leaning over to kiss his wife’s forehead. A nurse then barged into the room, stopping a moment to gape at the very awake Avery, before gaining her bearings. She coughed and looked at them.

            “I’ve been told to inform you that Nancy Byers has just gone into labor,” the nurse stated. “I’ll get a doctor to come check on you, Mrs. Harrington.

            The doctor spoke as if he didn’t believe this was possible but concluded that Avery was going to be alright. Steve had just grinned and told the doctor his wife was a fighter. Then, Avery, still exhausted, asked where the rest of the others were. When the doctor stuttered out they weren’t family, Avery gave a long lecture that soon had the others crowding in the room and cooing over the babies as they waited for news on Nancy, Jonathan, and the new baby.

            The funny thing was, Avery gave birth at four am and after nearly twelve hours. Nancy gave birth at twelve pm on the same day. El took one look at the babies, all three of them, and called them miracle babies.

            “More like soulmate babies,” Max scoffed as she bounced Jordan on her hip. “They really wanted to be born together. That’s for sure.”

            The others sort of laughed it off, but both tired moms shared a teasing look with each other. Steve could imagine that there would be a lot of shared birthday parties in the future. Jonathan appeared to be having the same thought.

\----------------------------

            After having Jamie, Victoria learned it was dangerous for her to have kids. Some sort of issue that had nearly killed her during the birth. So, she and Matthew agreed to not have anymore kids. Gareth, of course, never married. He still strongly believed in his anger issues and would sulk whenever he scared Steve and Avery’s kids. They always forgave him. Christopher did get married to a teacher hired to help the experiments, and because they were practically raising the kids, agreed not to have kids themselves. Robin had a few flings here and there, but she wanted someone who could keep up on her adventures. Both Dustin and Will married later on, and kids were still in discussion. Michelle, after having two kids, told Justin that if they wanted more kids they had to adopt because she was not going to deal with child birth again. They had yet to act on it, wanting their own kids to grow up, but it was something being considered. Max and Lucas often talked of more kids, but it was still up for discussion. Mike and El wanted more kids, truly, but they were still trying to see if Samantha would suddenly gain powers.

            As for the Byers and Harrington family, both agreed it was time for a break from having any more kids. With large families and jobs, there was only so much attention they could give, and both families were determined to find a balance.

            Joyce and Hopper were very happy grandparents, eagerly watching the kids whenever and spoiling the kids when they could. Though no one could out do Gareth. But they often discussed getting married. It was an odd discussion, and Hopper had brought up to Steve one day after the whole wedding things were over for a time. While the kids were still in college. And Steve honestly had no idea why they weren’t married at this point. It was Victoria who pointed out that they might believe themselves to be too old.

            Holly and Hannah remained best friends, their bond only growing as Michelle moved back to Hawkins when Justin got his job. The two were already discussing colleges, hopefully going together. Erica, however, had already entered college and was looking for a degree in law. Robin was sort of Erica’s idol, and the younger girl wanted to be able to help the older. She had a way to go, but she was eager.

            The one thing that bothered Steve, bothered everyone, was that there was nothing from the Upside Down.

            “Perhaps someone else took care of it,” Doctor Sam Owens supplied. “Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on. We got a reading a few years ago, but when we checked it out, it was like nothing had happened.”

            Steve had pursed his lips and kept going with his life. They hadn’t told the kids yet. Had agreed to keep it secret. Until now.

            “Listen,” Steve began, someone how deemed the best to tell the kids by the others. “There are some things you need to know about Hawkins. Secrets we’ve kept from you.”

            “Is this about those things Jamie, Emily, Cameron and I saw a few years ago?” Annabelle asked, looking entirely too. “The weird slimy things with the flower faces?”

            Steve thought Hopper had a heart attack in that moment. Steve was pretty sure he was having one too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am looking for prompts to that people want to read about Steve and the kids.


End file.
